


Playing Researcher

by Vexicle



Series: Ice Cream Sundae [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-14 19:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13597194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vexicle/pseuds/Vexicle





	1. Stubborn Aquilo

Cherry clicks her pens, frowning slightly. She's all alone at the school library, and she's just wasted a few bucks on a shiny new notebook. She smiles to herself, signing her name on the front page: _This notebook belongs to Cherry Lai._

Cherry hums softly, tapping her pink pen to her cheek. She had just spent half an hour doodling stuff on the cover and now it's adorned with colourful drawings of pink fluffy animals. She hesitates a bit before she grabs a light blue pen and colours in some of the animals. Cherry giggles under her breath.

Now she flips the notebook open and writes in neat cursive font: _Mission: Quilly!_ After some conscious thought, she draws a cute little heart on the dot of the exclamation point.

Cherry… well, she really should have been studying, but if anything, she's using her problem solving skills to pry open the blond’s mind. It's okay, school’s over anyway. Cherry quickly gathers up her things and exits the library.

She really feels like some sort of secret spy agent, ducking around every corner, heart hammering in her chest, looking around wildly to check if Aquilo is near. (With the exception of all the blushing, she's pretty sure that isn't a required secret agent thing on the list.) He should be free right now, right? He shouldn't have football practice today, unless he suddenly called an impromptu meeting.

It's not stalking if she lets him know, right?

Cherry grins widely as she spots the hardworking blond at his desk, frowning and typing some stuff on his tablet. “Quilly!” Cherry calls out to him, and he gasps when she hugs him from behind. A hand shoots out to separate them, and Aquilo’s blush spreads like wildfire across his cheeks. He hurriedly looks back and forth, but his classmates seem to be barely paying attention.

Cherry pulls out the empty chair next to Aquilo and sits down. His blue eyes narrow at her. “What are you doing here?” Aquilo demands.

Cherry snaps her book open. “Doing research.”

Aquilo stares at her in shock. “You? Doing research?”

Cherry pouts in response. Like, okay, fine, it wasn't school related, but he didn't need to know that. “Yeah, sure. Do you need help with that?” The black-haired teen nods at the word document Aquilo has open. “I'm free now.”

“You can help me when your grades meet minimum standards.” Aquilo frowns and returns to typing furiously on the keyboard. Cherry just laughs and flips her notebook open, hurriedly scribbling some stuff in cursive.

_As expected, he's being wildly defensive again. There's really no winning with him._

Cherry kind of wonders what she's doing. It's not even necessary. She’s known the boy since they were ten and she’s somehow pissed him off ever since. Cherry chuckles quietly so as not to disturb him. What a shame he’s always been suffering from a very rare disease called emotional constipation and she must get to the bottom of this mystery _immediately_. There might yet be hope!

...no, actually, it's just fun.

Aquilo’s eye twitches as if he can sense Cherry staring and smiling and tapping her fingers against the desk impatiently (oops, he most likely can). “Can I help you with something?” Aquilo huffs and slams the cover over his tablet. The screen locks itself with a loud snap. Cherry taps the tips of her index fingers together sheepishly.

Cherry smiles angelically at him but in Aquilolanguage ‘angelic’ translates to ‘annoying’, so Aquilo just glares at her. “ _What?_ ”

“Nothing, Quilly. Go and do your stuff, I don't mind.” Cherry giggles.

“Like hell I will. The only time you come to find me is when you need me to do your shitty work. Or distract me! So tell me what it is so I can say no!”

Cherry chuckles nervously, because how is she supposed to tell the blond to do his normal Aquilothings so she can stalk him in a friendly way?

“Can I copy your homework for next week’s quiz?” She bats her eyelashes at him.

“No.” Aquilo doesn't even miss a beat. He returns to typing dumb stuff on his tablet but Cherry relaxes anyway from dodging that bullet. She returns to her notebook and writes: _Still snarky as fuck._ Snark that has only gotten more and more concentrated over the years, she swears.

She closes her notebook, folding her arms on the desk and resting her head on them. Cherry sighs as she rubs her hand against the back of her head. She can feel the faint headache in her head, throbbing a little. Cherry groans softly and tries to dull the slight pounding. School’s been very busy nowadays, she feels like she can't catch a break. She has no clue how Aquilo even has the energy to do anything. They're both in sports teams too! It's not fair!

It's then that she feels a hand that is not her own, smoothing out the tangled black mess. “You never learn, do you?” The begrudging voice asks. Despite that, Aquilo continues to soothe her, playing with the frizzy curls. Cherry spares him a glance out of the corner of her eye, and realises that though his face is red he continues to stare stubbornly at his device.

 _He’s still working even with one hand_ , Cherry thinks in exasperated fondness. _His non-dominant hand, at that._ Like, she can't tell if she wants to yell at him to take a damn break or to congratulate him on his multitasking skills. Iggy must have taught his little brother some stuff in their free time.

Nevertheless, she leans lightly into his fingers, enjoying the feeling of his surprisingly gentle touch. She sneakily flips open her notebook and writes down: _Oddly docile when poked. Great!! If only he could stay that way._

Sneakily she smiles, leaning back against Aquilo’s shoulder, and she swears she sees a momentary blush, although his stern expression never falters.


	2. Happy(?) Aquilo

Cherry sits at her bedroom desk, humming in careful thought and thinking over all of her childhood experiences with Aquilo. Honestly she has no clue what she's doing or why this seemed like a good idea at first glance, but she's in full espionage spy mode now and hell if she's going to stop. _This feels awesome!_

What did she know about the blond? Plenty, but if anyone knew why on earth Aquilo acted so strangely around her Cherry would personally treat them to a full-fledged dinner party.

_Excellent literary skills, excellent sportsmanship, excellent presentation in his daily life,_ Cherry writes, the scribbling noises slightly drowned out by the sound of the whirring ceiling fan. _Buttttttt also tons of ‘I'm not doing this for you!’ stuff I don't get. Eh I don't know whatever I guess._ Cherry takes a moment to pause and realise she actually wrote those thoughts out, then shrugs and brings out her set of colourful rainbow pens.

Cherry draws a few swirls in blue, a couple of cupcakes in red, putting off the homework she probably needs done, but she decides that it's time to take a break today. Nearly, she titles the top of the page by drawing a scroll on it, with ‘really dumb stuff and I should be working’ written neatly in it. She cocks her head and writes down ‘diary entry ripoff’ at one corner. Cherry smile and blushes a little.

_I guess it's cute, though._

.

Aquilo lets out a _very_ unmanly half-screech when Cherry pops up behind his locker door just as he slams it shut. She smiles and waves cheerfully at him, seemingly oblivious to how his look of surprise gradually morphs into annoyance. 

“Oh my god, what the fuck do you want?” Aquilo snaps, but he doesn't turn away… meaning he probably _is_ interested; but if so, there he is again with his weird way of expressing it.

“Nothing.” Cherry grins disarmingly as she strikes a cute pose with the double intention of casually whipping out her stalking journal… she means, _very educational notebook_. Cherry juts her left hip out subconsciously, balancing the small book in one hand and twirling a pen in the other. Aquilo, however, does not look very impressed by this feat, which makes Cherry sad (jokingly) and she writes it down under observations anyway.

“Can you help me with notes?” Cherry asks, giggling at the hidden meaning embedded in her sentence. Not that she isn't currently scribbling down whatever she was thinking about him seconds prior.

Aquilo glares at her. “Can I go to my class first or is that too much to ask?” When Cherry nods, he sighs and shakes his head, spinning around on his heel, muttering “Pay at least _some_ attention” under his breath.

_Nope, not gonna happen,_ Cherry thinks mischievously. _Honestly, at the very least he isn't as explosive as he was when younger, or I'd probably be ka-powed into town right now._

Aquilo and Cherry enter his classroom after a while of walking down the hallway. Settling down at his desk, he rummages around in his bag. “What do you need?” he asks, and then Cherry realises that unlike a good secret agent, she completely forgot to come up with a convincing cover story.

“Uh… ch-chemistry,” she says, since she legitimately is struggling in the subject. He'd believe that.

Aquilo just nods and throws a blue notebook, leaving her fumbling and trying to catch it with no hands free. It eventually just plops on the ground after she basically ends up juggling the damn thing. She sighs and obediently picks the notebook up from the ground, and only after a few seconds does she realise Aquilo is laughing.

Aquilo is _laughing_.

What the hell, she's pretty sure she hasn't heard the sound from Aquilo in a gajillion years - he's too stressed out, she's too annoying, etc, etc.

What the hell, did she just see a freaking unicorn materialise from thin air? Blushing, Cherry presses the book harder against her chest, because what the hell he's just so -

“Are you okay?” Aquilo demands, more embarrassed than truly angry, as he looks down, blushing quietly. It's… it's cute, Cherry thinks it's… _cute_ , to have this big, hulking, football captain let his guard down in front of her. And well, it's been so long since he seemed so carefree. Cherry wants to hear more of this sound in the future.

Unfortunately Cherry can't stay to stop and stare, because his shy half-smile soon turns into his trademark frown and alright, alright, she's leaving already! And granted, staring for so long without a word or change in expression probably IS creepy. With a little sheepish smile of her own, she excuses herself.

Shoving herself against the wall outside Aquilo’s classroom, Cherry bites her lip as she cradles the notebooks closer to her chest, her heart thumping wildly, with one clear thought standing out from the rest.

_I wish he'd smile more often._

.

Aquilo is sighing and contemplating life and death with his head plopped on the desk when he hears familiar footsteps and stiffens. _Oh no, I don't have time for this shit._

Unfortunately, as predicted, his deskmate has to open his damn mouth and ask, “Uh… Aquilo, are you okay?”

Aquilo is just about to sigh and tell Basil to go away when he says something that (does _not_ ) pricks his attention. “Also, why’s that Chinese girl… Cher… Cheer? Why is she standing outside and covering her face with her notes?” Basil asks, sounding rather concerned. Aquilo almost wants to laugh in his face. And then maybe find some time to himself to think about his life.

Aquilo thanks all the gods he can think of right now that his red face is hidden from view; he can just _imagine_ the teasing words that are sure to come from his brother’s boyfriend. “Fuck you, fuck Cherry, fuck everything,” he growls.

“I… uh…” Basil sounds guilty now, and Aquilo is about to apologise when he hears the smooth, low voice of his bandmate. It's his lord and saviour.

“Akkun is always like that,” Taro says teasingly, and he feels the other boy’s hand petting his head.

“Taro, I love you, but gooooo awaaaayyyy,” he moans grouchily.

A light laugh. “Sure, sure,” Taro says pacifyingly. “Come on, shall we go? Pleased to have you along, Black Bass.” Aquilo barely pays attention to their retreating footsteps and Basil’s protests of “It's _Basil_!”, leaving him to stew in his conflicting emotions over that one girl.

_...damn it, Cheryl._


	3. Innocent Aquilo

This time, Cherry’s going to observe the Aquilous Brooksus Hallus in his natural habitat - her home.

Alright, that sounds… a little creepy. Privately, she thinks that her home wouldn't be complete without Aquilo. Frankly, she can't picture it without the blond. She's been living here for so long, and heck, it's practically his second home as well (Iggy currently seems a little occupied). This time it's because he's trying to avoid his football friends, as he explains over the phone. Apparently his buddies are trying to ask him to join in some… adult fun. Cherry cracks up, then laughs even harder when Aquilo makes a plaintive sound.

“ _Cherry_!” Aquilo protests. “This is serious!”

“N-no, I'm completely serious, they _what_?” Cherry gasps for breath, splayed out on her pink bed, staring up at her whirring ceiling fan to try to get a grip back on reality. “Do they want you to give them blowjobs or something?”

“Don't say such a thing!” Aquilo hisses, and Cherry chuckles to herself as she tries to imagine what he must look like right now. A puffed-up, bristling cat, glaring and blushing all at once. It must be adorable.

“T-they… they… they’re going to play Truth or Dare!”

“And you call that… _a-adult fun_?” Cherry bursts out laughing even harder than before, her chest heaving as she smacks her palm over her forehead. 

“Shut up, you _know_ how that game always ends!” The sheer _shame_ radiates so strongly Cherry can feel it over the line. “A-anyway, I'm coming over to hide out and there's nothing you can do about it!”

To Cherry’s absolute lack of surprise, there is no telltale dial tone. “Oh, Quilly,” she teases. “You're waiting for me to say no, aren't you?”

“I -”

“Come over as soon as you can. I'll be waiting. Bye, Quilly.”

“Bye.” A pause. “Oh, and thank you. Really.” A dial tone.

Cherry giggles and rolls over, thumbing the pages of her notebook affectionately, thinking about the poor guy.

_I have literally never seen any other teenage dude this... unhorny,_ she writes. _Shyness? Self-consciousness?_

Briefly, she allows her mind to linger on what it might be like to deflower that innocence - and then face red, she buries it in her pillow.

She wants to, but she shuts her eyes and refuses to let herself dwell on the thought any further. Aquilo _could_ smell her wet panties if that happened, right?

Unfortunately, the mental inages don't stop and Cherry finds herself heating up. She buries her face into her pillow, unsure if when Aquilo shows up her problem would be better or worse. Cherry wants to take off that shirt he always wears. They haven't gone swimming together in a very long time, and Cherry's pretty sure that Aquilo's gained a lot more muscle mass over the years.

_Oh my god, stop thinking about him!_

Cherry jumps out of bed when she hears the doorbell ring, eager to distract her mind with something else. She walks outside of her room, rubbing her eyes blearily, all the way over to the entrance of her home. Unlocking it reveals the sweat-flushed face and mussed hair of the blond, as he pants and hoists his schoolbag higher up his shoulders.

“Did you… did you _run_ all the way here?” Cherry asks in disbelief. She knows she lives near Chalkhill and all, but seriously?

Aquilo strolls inside her home, locking the door for her and shaking his head. “Oh my god, I didn't want them to catch me. It's so… _ugh_ ,” he groans as he dumps his bag on one of her dining chairs.

Cherry just laughs at him again. Aquilo scowls back when he realises her hand is on his shoulder. “Oh, Aquilo,” she sighs affectionately. Seriously, hadn't his past dates taught him anything? Or maybe he just wasn't the type to like casual sex. She'd respect that. “What are you planning to do here?”

“Not be harassed by you, but apparently that's constantly off the menu. Don't worry, I'll live,” he sighs dramatically. “I'll settle for studying, I suppose. Oh, yeah. Can I have my notes back?” Aquilo asks, sitting down on another foldable chair and rummaging through his schoolbag.

“I… uh. Oh!” Cherry gasps, biting her lip. Oh crap, she actually hadn't done anything yet. “Yeah, let me get that,” she says, hurried, as she dashes back into her room. 

Smiling to herself a little, she flips open the notebook, tracing her fingers across the neat letters Aquilo has written down. There are many diagrams and lots of different colours. Cherry doesn't recognise some of these terms; evidently, he's studied ahead. Cherry wishes she had that kind of resolve, honestly. Not to mention he has different notebooks for different subjects, meaning he has to illustrate the table of contents in painstaking detail every single time. 

“Quilly!” Cherry calls as she returns to his side and tosses the book at him. He catches it perfectly. 

“This is how you do it, Cherry,” he says smugly, smirking at her.

She sticks her tongue out at him. “Excuse me! Remember that not everyone's a damn sports nut!”

“You're a cheerleader, aren't you? That's a sport as far as I'm concerned.” Dismissively, he flips the cover of his tablet open. “Don't you guys catch pom-poms and do flips? How could you possibly fuck that up?”

“Aww, come on, I wasn't expecting it, okay?” Cherry pouts. “No fair.”

“That's a fair assessment.” Aquilo smiles slightly and shrugs. “Now, piss off. I have this literature journal to type from scratch.”

Cherry just leans closer to him, mischievously. “Are you telling me to piss off in my own home?”

Aquilo’s smile grows a tad too innocent. “Get me some grape juice as well, peasant.”

“I shan't feed your discount wine addiction.” Cherry chuckles and stands up, raiding her own fridge and pulling out a juice box, then tossing it haphazardly on the table, narrowly missing his arm. 

“Thanks,” Aquilo says, surprisingly genuinely for the fact that Cherry has just thrown a total of two objects at him today.

Cherry really does piss off right there and then, though for what reason, Aquilo doesn't need to know.

_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa,_ she writes, because she's the greatest journalist known to mankind. _What the hell? I wonder what kind of sex he's even had prior if he's _that_ prudish._ Cherry laughs to herself. _Gee, I wonder if I can change his mind._

Tilting her head, Cherry clicks her tongue as well. _What even, he's also really cute. I'm not sure how it took me this long to notice this stuff._

Debating with herself for a while, she finally puts down her inner thoughts. _I wonder if I should poke him more. See all he has to offer._

After all, it's just a dumb thought. It can't hurt anyone. No such thing as thought crime.

Besides, Cherry won't poke the bear. It's definitely dangerous and all around Not Good. Cherry's smart. So therefore, she won't.

 _Too_ much.


	4. Suspicious Aquilo

“I don't get it, Iggy,” Aquilo frets. “I know she's up to something, I just know it!”

“Who?” Iggy asks, smiling lovingly at the text he has just received from Zephyr.

“Cherry!” Aquilo flops dramatically off Iggy’s borrowed bed. The thump draws his attention from his phone screen, and Iggy watches his brother, who currently seems determined to resemble a fish out of water. “She - she has this look, she's scheming - I just _know it_ -” Aquilo hisses to no one in particular. In fact, Iggy wonders if Aquilo’s somehow forgotten he’s in the room, since he’s now ranting to a very sad-looking, well-worn stress ball about his love life.

“Uh huh,” Iggy cuts in doubtfully, eyes flicking over to his collapsed brother spread out on the carpet, glaring with all his might at a squishy little football. “But why would she do that, Quilly?”

“That's it!” Aquilo punches Iggy’s mattress, to his brother’s growing alarm. “I don't get it - but she's going to make my life miserable, I just know it!” Aquilo protests, settling himself back into bed beside his brother.

“Really?” Iggy asks doubtfully.

“Come on, when has she _not_?”

Iggy looks at Aquilo with an unreadable glint in his eye. “I don't know, but sounds like you hate not having her attention and hate having her attention at the same time. Which one is it, Aquilo?”

A flush. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Iggy tuts, even as he types another message to his lovers. _Quilly is being stupid again. Send help._ “I'm saying, Quilly, you seem to be very fond of her.”

Aquilo blusters. “I - uh, no, you uh, I… uh…” Silence as he stares at the carpet below his feet. Iggy crawls over to the edge of the bed, peering at his little brother that isn't quite so little anymore.

“Cherry’s our childhood friend, Iggy,” he finally says. Iggy senses that he's deliberately avoiding the elephant in the room.

“I know, Aquilo. She’s always been there, hasn't she?” Iggy asks cautiously. If there’s one thing to be known about Aquilo, it’s that understanding his thoughts and feelings on the emotional side is almost impossible if one can’t persuade him to even share them. Iggy’s found that for him, the soft approach has worked well so far, a tried and proven tactic. Even now, he’s counting on it to work.

Aquilo does visibly relax a bit at the soothing sound of his brother’s comfort. “Yeah, but, now, I…” Aquilo draws his knees to his chest, hugging them. “I don't know. I shouldn't be feeling like this. It's Cherry. She's just so... Cherry,” he says so softly Ihgy has to lean forward to hear him. “She's irritating and sweet and I don't know. I shouldn't be jealous, I shouldn't… _like_... her.”

Confused, Iggy blinks. “Why?”

“I mean… it's kinda strange, right? It's been so long, and she's my best friend.” Iggy’s head shoots up in surprise at Aquilo’s unusual honesty. “I’ve known her since before my voice cracked and stuff,” the blond continues. “Now we’ve grown up, and like… I've grown up… and… now she's pretty cool and pretty and I don't know. What am I even saying?”

“You feel weird liking her because you remember when she used to be an…” Iggy channels his best Aquilo impersonation. “ _Annoying twat._ ”

Aquilo chuckles though his expression remains conflicted. “Nah, like, at least you knew Zephyr after she already was in the middle of puberty, you know? Cherry’s been our friend since preschool. I really don't get it. How can I like her like this?”

Though Aquilo might try to hide it, his blush is still plainly visible to Iggy’s sharp eyes. The redhead makes a sympathetic sound as he wraps his arms around his brother.

“And she's absolutely irritating,” Aquilo says with some of his usual fire back.

“Yes, yes, you've been saying that for the past ten years.” Iggy rolls his eyes. “She's not going anywhere, you know.”

“I know! Cool, cool.” Aquilo sounds giddy.

“...but if she really is planning some weird new scheme, you'll let me know, right?”

“Yeah... yeah, of course.”

“I hope you guys work things out,” Iggy says sincerely, extending his arms in an offering. Aquilo looks at them, almost suspiciously, as if Iggy giving him a hug is part of Cherry's grand prank or something. Then finally, he leans into the hug. After a few moments, Aquilo excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Watching him go, Iggy allows himself to dwell on a resurfacing thought. Their feelings are no secret, after all.

Iggy’s rather familiar with Cherry’s stubbornness and eagerness to drag Aquilo into new activities - such incidents characterised much of his childhood years, after all. Iggy just hopes that this new ‘scheme’ Aquilo’s talking about is something relatively benign. But he’s seen the way she looks at him, the almost calculating look in her gaze. Iggy’s slightly impressed - he was the same way with his boyfriend after all, he'd be a hypocrite to judge, but at the same time...

_Cheryl, if you really are planning to hurt him, you'll have me to deal with. I can promise that._


	5. Embarrassed Aquilo

Aquilo’s cute.

Almost too cute, in fact.

He’s so stoic all the time, but he’s so pretty nonetheless, with that straw-blond hair and sharp nose and eyes the colour of baby blue. His musculature and toned legs leave nothing to the imagination, either. Cherry’s starting to want to ban him from wearing those shorts to football. And those shirts, with the short sleeves, unintentionally revealing his strong arms... On the surface, he just seems like an average guy, loving sports and keeping all his emotions to himself. It’s probably because of everything that his little displays of emotions that really clutch her by the seams.

Cherry just loves seeing Aquilo stutter and glance away, flustered, that pretty pink blush all over his cheeks. Were she an artist, she’d love to snap a photo and paint a picture using it as reference, but she can’t draw anything more complex than a stick figure. So, Cherry’s taken to cranking it up a notch lately.

Apart from her usual teasing, she’s trying to get him to notice her touches: a brush against his shoulders, a hand running down his arm, bumping into him more than usual… basically, all staples of the trashy romantic fiction he reads. And if his responses are any indication, her actions certainly haven’t slipped by unnoticed. Still, though… Cherry wants something more. She wants to poke and prod him like a squishy little thing.

“Aquilo,” she says after class now, in front of his desk, crouching so she’s on eye level with him. Her arms are folded across his neat papers. If one didn’t know her, this might sound perfectly normal; Cherry knows, however, that Aquilo certainly isn’t missing how her voice is dipping into a lower register than usual.

“Y-yes?” Aquilo asks, his throat sounding constricted. Why’s he doing that, hiding his blush behind a blue notebook?

Cherry smiles at him, a look that just barely brushes the side of flirtatious. “Would you like to go for lunch with me?” She leans forward, letting her long curly hair droop over her shoulder, running the tip of her fingers across his hand.

For a second, Aquilo just stares at her. Then his brow twitches and Cherry’s grin grows wider. 

This is where the fun begins.

“The hell?” Aquilo snaps back, slapping her hand away. His blond hair is all but standing up in his agitation. “There’s no fucking way I’m going to lunch with you!” 

Beside them, Basil coughs and awkwardly excuses himself. For a brief moment, Aquilo stops frowning and instead stares after his classmate with what seems like a pleading look… then he’s back to gritting his teeth and attempting to glare Cherry down. Gripping the edge of the table, he demands, “What the hell is up with you?”

“I want Starbucks,” she says as matter of factly as she can without bursting into a fit of laughter. He has a look on his face like one might if a pigeon just took a shit on top of their head. 

Cheek twitching as he visibly struggles to keep control, Aquilo just says slowly, “ _No._ ” Ah. But there it is: he sort of spins around in his chair so he’s sitting sideways. Hunching down in it, he presses the book even more firmly against his nose. Bright blue eyes flicker over to Cherry, guarded, but not quite. His eyebrows have loosened now, contrasted against the stiffness of his arms and legs. Cherry sees him gulp as he tries to turn his attention back to whatever bunch of notes he has written. 

If Cherry tilts her head to her right, she can just see the faint pink over his cheeks and the adorable way he presses his lips together tight, the strength of his angled jaw and the flush creeping up his collar -

“Fuck _off_ , Cherry,” Aquilo says darkly, glaring at her even through the haze of his sheer embarrassment. “Go get your damn coffee with someone else.”

“Alright, alright,” Cherry says, not taking it personally at all. She withdraws, battling against the urge to plant a kiss on his red lips, no matter how irresistible. That would definitely be sexual harassment and not at all what she’s okay with. “See you tomorrow at practice?” she asks.

“...yeah.” Aquilo’s reply sounds muffled. 

Taking that as her cue to leave, Cherry does so with a dramatic ‘fwip!’ of her hair. As she strides out of the classroom, Cherry feels all fuzzy inside. Aquilo’s really so, so, adorable even when his attempts at lying are so see-through he’s practically a ghost. It’s part of what makes him so loveable, in her opinion, just how secretly awkward Aquilo is behind that cool exterior. 

Cherry really, really hopes that one day, he’ll let her see even more sides of him, that no one else can.

.

Aquilo groans and grips his own tufts of hair even tighter.

“So you’re saying -” Taro gasps out, choking, grabbing onto a very confused Basil for support. “You’re saying that your crush is flirting with you and you’re _not going to go for it_?” 

“She’s planning something,” Aquilo mumbles mutinously. “And she is not my crush.”

“So what are you kids calling it these days?”

“You’re only a year older than me!”

Basil looks back and forth between his classmates, radiating sheer awkwardness. Lost in the sea that is his boyfriend’s twin brother’s pathetic love life, it’s all he can do to timidly offer, “I don’t know, man. Maybe you should… try and go for it?”

“Go for it,” Taro echoes in a wise, sagely voice. “It seems obvious to you, doesn’t it, young Baseball?” He places one hand on Basil’s shoulder and sweeps the other in a wide arc around them. “Yes, but Aquilos work in mysterious ways not known to mankind.”

“Shut up,” Aquilo mumbles, feeling absolutely miserable. It’s sort of like he’s in a dark deserted place and Taro is repeatedly running at him and stabbing him with that umbrella stick jutsu of his. 

Basil just chuckles nervously. Taro, though, leans forward. With a catlike smile, he leans down and forces himself into Aquilo’s field of vision. Aquilo eyes him and attempts to push him away. No such luck. 

“You really aren’t going to do anything about Cherry?”

“She’s duummmb,” says Aquilo in a tone that is absolutely not a whine. “She’s trying to… to get me to do some shit, I just know it,” he says as his eyes narrow into chips of ice. Waving a hand around, he adds, “She’s always like that. It’s terrible. I know she doesn’t really mean it.”

“Or what if she does, Akkun?” Taro insists. He’s petting his blond hair like he’s some kind of mangy dog now. Aquilo tries not to pull away. Taro continues, “You never know. You could be missing out.”

“Says the guy who never asked Tim out.”

“He’s obviously not interested,” Taro says, blushing. “And that isn’t my point! Cherry looks at you differently. She treats you differently, in general. I doubt it’s much of a stretch to think she’s genuinely interested.”

As soon as Taro’s words leave his mouth, Aquilo’s frozen to his seat. _Cherry might like me,_ he thinks dumbly. Gripping his table so hard it might break, Aquilo’s only sane thought is that he can’t possibly be frozen, or he wouldn’t feel so _hot_ all over. Sweat is gathering on his palms and at the base of his neck, and his heart’s racing at a very unhealthy rate. What the hell, is the simple thought that she might be… might be… might be liking him making him feel so… happy?

“Think about it,” Taro urges in a far less teasing tone. Petting him on the back, Taro sweeps a bewildered Basil along for the ride, leaving an extremely feverish Aquilo alone to melt into a giant puddle.


	6. Shy Aquilo

Maybe it’s the glint in his eyes that sharpen them to chips of ice. Maybe it’s the way the flush on his cheeks brings colour to his pale complexion and blond hair. Maybe it’s the way he’s only really, truly, honest when she riles up that side of him he’s hidden away. Cherry can't figure out what about Aquilo’s rare openness is so refreshing, but she knows she wants more of it.

She continues the next day, and the next day, and the day after next, jotting down each and every one of her observations neatly into her little notebook. _Quilly allowed me to hold his hand_ , _Quilly definitely returned a bit of my gestures_ , and _Quilly smiled really shyly at me today_ are all becoming common occurrences in her notes. 

Naturally, all of these actions are trapped behind a solid wall of pure hostility, but perhaps she’s breaking through.

 _Maybe it’s just me,_ Cherry writes one night, clad in cozy cotton pyjamas, _but I’m really sure he’s getting less annoyed and more embarrassed. Interesting._

It seems that pulling every single romantic line and scenario or trope from her mind actually does do the trick. More than once, Cherry’s doubt surfaces, asking her if doing something so stupidly cliché is really a wise decision. Each time, however, playing the part of a fictional character in a romantic comedy seems to make Aquilo gulp and blush and sometimes even smile. Now that she’s had consistent success, Cherry can picture (with more than a little amusement) exactly what kind of romantic fantasies Aquilo has played out in his mind.

So, Cherry thinks nothing of her sudden, impulsive decision of dragging Aquilo into a darkened janitor’s closet on Friday after school. Just a hook, step, push, and they’re in. 

Maybe Aquilo’s face is red and his soft blue eyes glitter with want, but it’s hard to tell when the lights are completely off and the space is cramped and Aquilo’s attempting to kick her in the legs - _ouch_. Cherry winces and bends down to rub at the sore spot.

“What the _hell_? Let go of me!” Aquilo snaps, despite the fact that he can literally just walk right out of the closet. When Cherry pleasantly points this out to him, he falls silent. In fact, he’s so silent his breathing stops. Cherry is about to ask him if everything’s okay when he lets out a big sigh that Cherry can almost feel, followed by a quiet mutter to himself. 

“So. Nothing wrong?” 

“Wha - I… I mean... _ugh_ , why am I here?”

Tensions spark off bashfulness, and of course, with it comes indignation.

“I wanted to show you something cool!” Cherry beams at him, a gesture lost completely in the darkness. The constant pretense is wearing thin, she knows. Aquilo can see right through it. He’s kind like that, giving her more credit than she thinks is worth sometimes. She can tell the blond boy is staring at her in the dark. His gaze sends shivers along her spine, a certain thrill that can't be replicated by anything else. Still, he doesn't call her out on it.

Instead, tone sharp, he hisses, “Shouldn't you lock the door?”

Cherry clicks her tongue at him. “If you do that, people will think we’re doing something, hmm?” Grinning, she approaches him like a shadow clings to a person. “Unless you want that to happen?” she asks in a whisper, her fingertips resting on Aquilo’s arms.

“I… I, I -” Caught red-handed, it’s all Aquilo can do to deflect the bullets. “No, I… I’d never want any such t-thing!” he stammers out. Cherry can see something move backwards, can hear the shuffling of sneakers and a ‘poof’ as Aquilo accidentally elbows an empty box. “Nothing! Nothing’s wrong!” Aquilo suddenly yells.

Cherry blinks to adjust to the sudden light as Aquilo _flings_ the door open, all but tearing it off its hinges as he dashes outside. Cherry hears a loud thud and snaps out of her daze, rushing after him. She resists calling out for Aquilo and bringing attention to their untimely location, because as much as she teases him she doesn’t want to broadcast their… relationship to the entire school. Cherry stares in surprise as Aquilo shoots down the hall like a rocket, bumping into some confused-looking students. It’s not hard to see the reason for his lack of coordination - as soon as he rounds the corner, Cherry catches a glimpse of his face buried in his hands as he disappears out of sight.

 _How adorable._ Cherry grins and leans against the wall with one hand. Any questioning glances shot her way are met with a smile that gives nothing away. _Definitely a success,_ Cherry thinks to herself, playing with her hair as she heads back to her own classroom. She’ll catalog this later. She’s starting to think that she needs to use post-its to tag all of her findings properly. 

Turns out studying a subject you’re actually interested in increases the yield exponentially.

.

Aquilo huffs as he speeds through the school garden in a frenzy. _Too close, too much!_ are his hurried thoughts as trees flash by. _Hang on, trees?_

Aquilo’s gallop slows to a trot gradually. He huffs and pants, sweat rolling down his neck and back as he bends over, placing his hands on his knees. His chest heaves with the effort. He’s never been this out of breath before, not since he was a kid and just beginning to understand the importance of exercising. Cheeks still flushed pink, he begrudgingly admits he’s also never been this out of control before.

Where the hell did Cherry learn all of his weaknesses?

Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting. Aquilo needs to drown himself in the nearest available lake. He should have burned all those stupid cringey unrealistic fluffy incredibly adorable and romantic teen novels a long time ago.

 _But of course. She’s a smart girl._ Aquilo groans. He wouldn’t put it past her to stick her big fat nose in his business. One hand shielding his eyes from the sunlight, Aquilo collapses in the nearest empty bench, head against the backrest as he slumps down in his seat. The bench is located next to several shrubs, with little hot pink ixoras all in bloom. In the near distance, Aquilo can hear the rushing water of the school fountain.

It’s beautiful outside, and yet the only thing Aquilo can think of at the moment is Cherry and her incredibly frustrating shenanigans.

Damn it, he likes it. He likes the attention. He can’t refute it anymore. He can’t even fight it anymore. And he doesn’t care, but he does, and he also doesn’t know what on earth to do. He lets out another sigh and closes his eyes.

_Cherry’s so cute…_

Aquilo runs a finger over the corner of his lips to test if he’s smiling. He is. Damn it. As if he wasn’t just thinking about her own adorable, sunny smile...

A part of him still isn’t convinced, however, that Cherry actually likes him. The scheming, mischievous look in her eyes every time his eyes meet hers, the clicking of her familiar blue pen, that notebook she always ferries around… Aquilo knows she’s doing something. ‘Research’, she called it once. Yeah, right. She’s obviously writing something about him. Aquilo has not missed the way she stares at him and scribbles something down when she thinks he’s not looking.

It’s… kind of flattering, in a way, but then Aquilo’s rational side takes over, arguing, _Do something! She’s trampling all over your boundaries when she treats you just as an experiment!_

For some reason, it stings. The fact that she might just be playing with him is something Aquilo can’t bear. Cherry’s actions do seem a little too staged to be real, a little too planned to be the result of any real interest in him. Aquilo cuts his inner voice off immediately, refusing to dwell on it any further. However, the sinking feeling doesn’t go away. In the end, Aquilo’s far too logical, and as always, he ends up overthinking it. The thought circles round and round his mind until he almost wants to take a trip to the nurse’s office to lie down and cry.

At the same time, Cherry hasn’t actually been doing anything like this to anyone else, so maybe Taro’s right. He does have a point. Maybe he should face her. Stop running, plant his feet into the ground, and get his stubborn ass to finally voice what he wants.

The thought of that makes Aquilo want to throw up.

 _Right right right there’s no way I’m doing that anytime soon. Not to such an idiot. I bet she can’t see three feet in front of her. She’s dumb as hell and she laughs at everything. It sounds beautiful. I wish I could make her laugh._ Then Aquilo blinks. Crossing his arms in an attempt to regain composure, Aquilo instead finds himself curling up. Absently, he fixates on a particular ixora’s quadruple petals. The bench’s metal armrest feels cold against his leg.

 _I don’t know what to do,_ Aquilo thinks to himself, dejectedly. Maybe he should do something, maybe he shouldn’t. Maybe if he confesses, Cherry will laugh her ass off at him taking her pranks so seriously. _“I can’t believe you thought it was for real!”_ Cherry would say, and then Aquilo would probably run off crying somewhere and never be able to face her again and -

Aquilo’s hand travels to his heart. It had hurt, the instant he had thought about that. Aquilo gulps. _No. I’m sure Taro’s wrong. Maybe if I don’t do anything she’ll stop, and then I won’t get hurt. This is too risky. We’ll just laugh it off, and then go back to normal._ Aquilo hesitates. _As friends._

As he stands up, leaving the bench behind to go back to class and collect his sad little backpack, Aquilo bitterly recalls a quote from a book he read. 

_Love’s a dangerous game, after all._


	7. Distressed Aquilo

The redhead pauses at the corner of the hallway, scanning the lockers for his target. Silently, he sneaks forward, darting between students here and there. Amber eyes give nothing away as Iggy slides into place next to the girl with curly, ruffled dark hair.

“Cherry,” he says, struggling not to let his irritation seep through. That difficulty increases as Cherry turns to give him a smile in return. _How can she smile?_ Iggy growls in his mind. _She knows exactly what she’s doing!_

“Iggy, hi!”

“Yeah, hi,” Iggy says after a beat that he tries to play off as mere hesitation. It’s best not to give off even a single whiff of his absolute annoyance at the girl standing before him. Gripping his books tighter, he tries not to lean away. “Listen, what exactly are you doing?”

Cherry’s grin slips off, replaced by genuine puzzlement. “I’m talking to you?”

“Not -” Iggy gestures jerkily with his hand, “- this. I mean whatever Aquilo says you’re doing.”

“Oh.” Smile popped back in place again, Cherry lets out a laugh. “What exactly did Quilly tell you?” 

Iggy’s brows twitch in annoyance. So Cherry still has the nerve to be merry, huh? Iggy tries not to react too much to her casual use of the nickname ‘Quilly’. It’s the childhood nickname she herself came up with, after all, but Iggy can’t help but think she doesn’t deserve to use it right now. Not when Aquilo had come home yesterday even more silent than usual, his hand obviously faltering in writing out his homework for today.

Iggy had really thought Aquilo was exaggerating prior to this, but it’s not like his twin to allow his emotions to get in the way of his work. Which meant that the only possible conclusion was Aquilo _really_ wasn’t blowing things out of proportion this time. And so, Iggy had marched straight up to Cherry… and asked her.

All this flits across his mind in a matter of seconds, and it only takes Iggy one more to realise how years ago he’d never have done anything like this. Realising Cherry is still waiting for an answer, he replies, eyes narrowed, “He didn’t say anything that exact, but I have a suspicion.”

The twinkle in Cherry’s eyes signals something like _Gee, I wonder why!_ Iggy hates it.

“Look, Cherry, whatever it is you’re doing, you’d better not hurt him.”

Cherry stops smiling, lips parted. “I - I’d never,” she says hurriedly. Iggy strains to prick his ears up for a flash of guilt, but it’s gone when Cherry perks up again and bounces on the balls of her feet. “Hey, don’t you worry! He’s one of my best friends, and I’d really hate for anything to actually happen to him.”

Even after hearing her words, Iggy can’t help but stare back at Cherry, just uncomprehending. _Doesn’t she know?_ Iggy thinks, dumbfounded. _Doesn’t she talk to him at all? How doesn’t she know? Well maybe it isn’t too clear through texts -_

“It’s okay. I’ll look out for Quilly, okay?” Iggy is slightly surprised when he feels a hand patting his shoulder. He glances at the offending appendage before his vision traces the arm connected to it, then finally to Cherry’s face. Her expression is earnest and sincere. Even though Aquilo might actually… be romantically interested in her now, she’s always been their friend. This isn’t just any girl, Iggy tells himself. So, for now, he decides to put his trust in her, just as he did all those years ago when Cherry proudly held a caterpillar in her outstretched hands just to show Iggy it wasn’t scary.

“Okay,” he says uncertainly, taking a step back. Searching for any excuse to do something with his hands that suddenly feel too big and clumsy, Iggy settles for playing with his bag strap. “I just… hope you know what you’re doing.”

Cherry makes a quiet hum of acknowledgement. “Okay, I’ll find other ways to bother him then,” she jokes before she sobers up. “Iggy, I know you wouldn't come talk to me like this if I wasn't affecting him. I’ll stop and find some way to make it up to him. Okay?”

Iggy feels almost stunned, but that would be giving Cherry too little credit. He’s actually, against all odds, heard his brother praise her before. Fortunately, ageing has dealt Cherry a fair bit of maturity, and with it comes perspective. A good thing, since Iggy doesn't exactly know what to tell Cherry without giving Aquilo’s feelings away. _Imagine having to explain that,_ he laments. _It’s better for her to hear it from him. However long that takes._

With this in mind, Iggy nods and confirms, “Uh, preferably without him knowing I talked to you?” 

“Deal.” Cherry grins like a Cheshire cat, wide but mysterious. “He won't find out that you’ve been meddling~” Playfully, she pokes his shoulder, making Iggy stumble back with the surprising strength of it. Cherry herself realises her mistake and supports him. She tips her head to him in an apology, pats his shoulder twice, then says, “I kinda need to go now. Thanks for telling me, though. See you around?”

“Uh… yeah.” By the time Iggy looks up again, just the tips of Cherry’s long curly hair can be seen around the corner. Iggy wastes no more time then, placing his books down so he can straighten them out as neatly as they were before. Holding them under the crook of his arm, he sets a brisk pace to the nearby train station. 

_I hope Cherry actually does something about it…_

.

_Aw man, I totally need to do something about it. I pushed it way too far this time._

Cheeks almost the color of her namesake, Cherry hides it behind her school file, filled with so many papers it stretches the absolute limits of the thin plastic folder. She just hopes it doesn’t burst in this crowded hallway or she’d have twice the amount of embarrassment. Silently, she utters a prayer for the folder to hold for at least until she reaches home.

_At least Iggy doesn't seem to know what I did exactly or I’d just die!_

Then again, is it really that surprising? Aquilo’s always loved his privacy, almost to the point of obsession when he was younger. Cherry smiles at the thought of the small fiery boy growing up to be this cold, calculating force of nature. For someone with a name inspired by winter winds, he’s ridiculously hot, or at least in her opinion he is.

Which is why Cherry’s biting her lip now as she scurries in the shade, hunched over in shame. Awkwardly, she jabs at the lift button with her elbow, hoping she won’t run into any neighbours along the way.

 _I really thought he was okay with it too,_ Cherry chastises herself. _I should have checked! Should have asked! I don’t wanna lose him as a friend. Or otherwise._

If her actions directly lead to his unnecessary suffering of some sort, that’s definitely not the kind of girlfriend she wants to be.

 _I should apologise,_ Cherry thinks. The lift beeps and her thoughts are put on hold for the moment as Cherry awkwardly tries to juggle a file full to bursting and her keys in two hands while balancing them. Somehow, she succeeds and manages to pull the door closed behind her. She deposits the file on her dining table before she locks her door. Her hand remains tightened around the doorknob as she sags.

 _I should say sorry as a start, but how?_ Cherry wonders. It’s not as if Cherry can just go walk right up to Aquilo and just… admit what she was doing, in all honesty. Though it’s not like he hasn’t figured her out by now, knowing what she’s doing is such a huge difference from actually saying it out loud. It makes it more tangible somehow. That’s not exactly bad, but Cherry’s in a bit of a pickle here, what with saying _Haha sorry for acting out a romance novel without your consent_ not exactly being the best of topics to choose from.

She needs to find some other way to convey her sincerity, but how?

 _I know! I know what he likes. I’ll just pick something and ask him to come with me, or do something with me._

Cherry straightens up her back and sweeps her file off the table and into her arms. She skips into her room with a pep in her step.

_I have some planning to do…_


End file.
